Geography

Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, consists
of three widely separated main groups of southwest Pacific islands: the
Gilberts on the equator, the Phoenix Islands to the east, and the Line
Islands farther east. Ocean Island, producer of phosphates until it was
mined out in 1981, is also included in the 2 million square miles of
ocean. Most of the islands of Kiribati are low-lying coral atolls built on
a submerged volcanic chain and encircled by reefs.

Government

Republic.

History

Kiribati was first settled by early
Austronesian-speaking peoples long before the 1st century
A.D
. Fijians and Tongans arrived about the 14th
century and subsequently merged with the older groups to form the
traditional I-Kiribati Micronesian society and culture. The islands were
first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early
19th centuries, and the first British settlers arrived in 1837. A British
protectorate since 1892, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown
colony in 1915–1916. Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll became a part of
the colony in 1919; the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937.

Tarawa and others of the Gilbert group were
occupied by Japan during World War II. Tarawa was the site of one of the
bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history when marines landed in Nov.
1943 to dislodge the Japanese defenders. The Gilbert Islands and Ellice
Islands (now Tuvalu) were separated in 1975 and granted internal
self-government by Britain. Kiribati became independent on July 12,
1979.